Recently, distributed database systems have been employed to maintain collections of data. Multiple computing nodes, potentially distributed across various geographic regions and data centers, may collectively provide applications with a reliable mechanism for storing and retrieving data.
Distributed database systems sometimes employ a process commonly described as replication. Typically, one of the computing nodes in the distributed database is designated as a master, and maintains what might be described as a primary version of a collection of data. Other nodes in the system may be designated as replication peers. These nodes may maintain copies of the primary version of the collection based on data transmitted from the master. The operation of the replicas may, among other potential benefits, reduce the chance that data will be lost in the event that the master computing node fails. However, data may be at risk when an insufficient number of replication peers are employed.